UNIMED Advocates Gender-informed and Community-based Solutions to Drug Abuse
The University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo has advocated gender-informed and community-based solutions to drug abuse among youths.
This was the highlight of an evidence-based research on “Gender Dimension of Drug Abuse among Secondary Schools in Ondo City” conducted by Centre for Gender and Health Equity of the institution with financial support of Central Office for Research Development (CORD) of UNIMED whose results were made public at a seminar on Tuesday, 1st July, 2025 at Oladipo Akinkugbe Hall, Laje Campus of the institution.
Revealing the findings of the research, Dr. Modupe Adediyan said “Social media is the primary source of information on drug abuse”. She then highlighted the importance of using the same channel to campaign against it. Speaking further, she listed the commonly abused substances as alcohol, Tramadol, cannabis, codeine, etc., and that 77.2% of the respondents were aware of the substances. She added that “males reported higher abuse rates and severity, correlating with social norms and greater freedom”, while “female use involves less potent substances, influenced by social relationships and survival tactics”.
The seminar, which featured critical stakeholders such as NDLEA, psychiatrists, counsellors, among others, believed strategic interventions like banning of hard drugs, sales of drugs prohibition, enforcement of rules, teacher accountability, etc.
Speaking earlier at the seminar, the Director, Centre for Gender and Health Equity, Professor Augustinah Duyilemi said “there are differences in how male and female students experience addiction. To this end, deploying gender-sensitive approaches to tackle adolescent substance abuse will make a huge impact”. She added that “drug abuse is a ticking time bomb”, which requires the whole community to address.
E-signed:
Isaac Oluyi
PRO, UNIMED, Ondo.